Joplin, MO. – During a special ceremony held last week, Amber Kinder, Freeman Health System’s Director of Nursing Resources, was honored with a rare “Patriot” award in recognition of her “above and beyond” support for Freeman employees serving in the National Guard and Reserves.

Kinder was nominated by Freeman’s very own Float Pool RN Valerie Newkirk, who serves as a flight nurse with the 137th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron in the Oklahoma Air National Guard, working inside behemoth cargo planes such as the C-17 Globemaster III, which can be converted into a flying hospital.

“Balancing a civilian career with military service can be challenging,” Newkirk said to Kinder during a ceremony held at Freeman Hospital West, “but your recognition of the unique skills and experiences that services members bring to the workplace speaks volumes about (Freeman Health System’s) values.”

Joining Freeman in early 2021, Newkirk has worked for a handful of companies over the years, yet none showed the type of care and compassion Kinder and Freeman Health System officials have demonstrated when it comes to accommodating Newkirk’s duties to serve her country in times of crisis.

“In my 25 years, I’ve never had a place, or a supervisor, that I’ve felt I should put this award in for until now,” Newkirk said of Kinder and Freeman Health System.

Because she’s a flyer, Newkirk must undergo additional flight training and hours in the air. Not once, she said, did Kinder or Freeman officials blink an eye.

“I’m grateful to be a part of a team that not only understands the importance of military service but also actively supports it,” she said. “It truly means a great deal to me.”

Immediately after, Kinder and Newkirk hugged.

“I treat my employees how I would want to be treated in those situations, whether it’s military, family engagements, schools – whatever it may be,” Kinder said. “I’m glad she appreciates what I did, but I just feel like it’s common courtesy, or just what we do here. Freeman, as an employer, we want to support our employees any way we can. This is a great example of how we do that.”

The Patriot award was created by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, an office of the Department of Defense. Overseeing Friday’s award presentation was ESGR’s Steve Vanderhoof.

“There are three things that makes a successful Guard or Reserve member,” Vanderhoof said. “They have to be ready, willing, and able to serve. They need support from their family. And the really important thing is support from their civilian employer. If they don’t have any of those three things, it’s game over.”